Sunday, May 6, 2012

The Coming of the Caliph, King Abdullah II of Jordan - sounds good, but God is in the little details.

Royal Coat of Arms of the Royal Family of
the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan

8 years ago (2004), I wrote this unfinished article to be sent to a local newspaper here in Malaysia. Now almost a full decade on I think that the thoughts contained here have not changed and I still feel the same -

This year is the 80th year of the end of the Islamic Caliphate which stretched uninterrupted for over 1425 years, and nobody batted an eye. It was the turning point and catalyst for the decline of the Islamic civilization. Since then, we have been inundated by New and Modern Islam in its many interesting varieties. Socialist Islam, Ideological Islam, Nationalist Islam and Political Islam grew in the popular thoughts of the masses, spread by their respective preachers and promoters. Before you slip in your vote come Sunday, please reflect on the following observation;

No Great Imam, Shaykh or Ulamak, in the 1425 years of the Caliphate desired or acted to pursue worldly power. They recognize the distinction between their role, and the role of the Caliph. They were very learned in the connection and distinction between the schools of shariah and tassawuf. Thirdly, there was never such a thing as an Islamic Republic. The temporal rule of the Caliphate was founded on the shoulders of one man, the Caliph.

If it was good for my predecessors who were so much better than me, it is good enough for me. In my perception, the fall of the Ottoman Caliphate has not introduced a new equation necessitating the creation of a theocratic state. Current events in Iran and Afghanistan have shown that theocratic leaders are just as resistant in letting go of power as other politicians. Please don’t measure Islam by the number of countries in the world bearing the title “Islamic”. Please don’t measure Islam by the number of citizens in a country registered as Muslim. Islam is beyond measure, it is God’s Own Sovereignty over mankind which exists above the rise and fall of the poor Muslims themselves. And to bring the Quran and Sunnah to the level of a grubby vote-grabbing exercise is like trading gold for dirt.

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Hehehe. I often write like this in the past. Drawing words across a large expanse of historical and geo-political landscape. Nowadays, I am much more reticent to make such vast conclusions, even though they may be true. Oh no. Nowadays I like to look closer on the smaller details about 'big events'. For instance the declaration by the old Shaykh of Lefke, Cyprus who confirmed that God and the Prophet has deemed that His Majesty King Abdullah II of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan is to be the new Caliph of Islam, reviving the Muslim Caliphate after almost 90 years of suspended animation. It was merely a suspended animation you see, because when the Young Turks of Kemal Ataturk resolved to abolish the Caliphate, they acted out of their jurisdiction (or ultra vires as how my old English law lecturer would have put it). For even assuming that they spoke for all the Turks of the land (which they did not), and although the Ottoman Turks held the Caliphate for 700 years, they do not own it per se, being only custodians for that glorious 7 centuries. Now the Caliphate is being returned to the clan of the Bani Hashem through the descendant of the Prophet himself(pbuh). So this is part of the big picture.

What did you say, Sire?

But on the smaller scale I am filled with empathy for the Caliph. I do not know whether he yearned or wanted this to happen - "Oh dear. What and how am I gonna tell my wife? My family? My friends? My ministers? My people? How will the other Arab rulers and kings respond? What about my other plans??" A burden has been hoisted on His Caliphate Majesty's shoulders that cannot be measured. While we may rejoice in his ascension to the throne of the Amirul Muqminin (Commander of the Believers), at a very human level we must empathise and ask God and the Prophet(pbuh) to weigh in with the heavenly support that must come to the Caliph.

The Caliph

Thank you for coming by today, sunshine.

wa min Allah at-taufiq

Post Script - My friends of all faiths - I myself am not prepared for this present movement of affairs in the world of Islam. As I write now, I have not breakfasted and I am still in my pyjamas(!), slowly slurping my lukewarm cup of coffee. If there is a fool known in the village, that fool would be me. If there is a sinner known for his ups and downs, that sinner would be me. In the vast operation of this Universe, I am not worthy of any mention. But this man here, with our without his mustache, is the Caliph to me. So if you are interested, stick around as I try to weave my pen around this unexpected and amazing turn of events that shall bring hope for a more enlightened, compassionate and merciful age. For as Caliph, he is enjoined to bring no other thing to this torn and battered world that we all live in but God, Truth and Love. Amen.

Other Postings on King Abdullah II as the New Caliph of Islam(Click on links) -

4 comments:

As a Jordanian I barely kept a straight face when I read the article. King Abdullah II is as far away from being an observant Muslim as your average Jewish member of the National Union Party in Israel. Besides, no way Arabs and Muslims would accept him in rule and he knows that. His great-grandfather pursued that dream and he failed miserably.

What was declared remains declared and has not been withdrawn or negated as far as I am aware. I am a mere bystander, a sinner, an observer but a sympathetic follower of the Naqshbandis of Mawlana Sh Nazim. Whether there is a 'movement' in the socio political sense is something beyond my ken and to be honest, not of my concern.

What the Shaykh said in his lifetime, we listen and we obey. I am sorry that I cannot give a more clearer explanation. But I guess I can at least say that 5 years on, the belief is there, and what Allah and Habibullah sws may plan for such beliefs, that is something I am waiting for, with hope and love.